Superlative war epic

Rating: 10/10 (7 January 2015)

I hadn't got around to watching THE LONGEST DAY before now; I knew little about it, other than it featured an all-star cast and was about the D-Day landings. Having just watched it, I've been blown away by what I consider to be one of the most confident, assured, WW2 films I've ever seen.
THE LONGEST DAY is to D-Day what TORA! TORA! TORA! is to the Pearl Harbour attack. It covers the build-up and events of the day in minute detail in such a way that it never feels slow or overlong; indeed, there's so much going on here that this lengthy production requires the viewer's attention throughout. No time for nodding off as you'll be lost otherwise!
The all-star cast makes it a highly attractive proposition as a film, but really this movie would have worked just as well with an unknown cast, as it's so well written; exciting where it should be, tragic in places, and unexpectedly funny in others. Watching John Wayne, Robert Mitchum, and the rest of the familiar faces wading their way through one of the most important days in 20th century history is a sheer delight. Needless to say this blows Spielberg's mawkish SAVING PRIVATE RYAN clean out of the water.